The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-07-15

"Climb over the back OF QUIZ
and sthnd by to help me with u sung
out John to The Zulu, who obeyedV ing be-
tween him and jess.
SNOW, jess, hang'ca, and say your prayers
for ii strikes me we shall have need OF them.
So, horses, sol" :,
The horses backed and plunged, but Muller
OH the one side aud the smooth faced Boer on
the other aslied them without mercy and at
last they went into the river with rush.
The gust had passed now, and for moment
or two there was renewed silence, except Tor
the whrl nf the water and the snakeiike hiss
Of the coming rain.
For few yards, ten or fifteen perhaps, oil
went well, and then John suddenly discovered
that they were getting Into deep waters tho
two leaders were evidently almost on their
legs, and could scarcely stand against the cur
rent of the flooded river.
damn you'll" he shouted back, "there Is no
drift here"
"Go on, 60 on, it IL all right" camo Null
ler's voice in answer.
John said no more, but, putting out all his
strength, tried to get bis horses round. joss
turned herself on the seat to look, and Just
then came blaze Of lightning which revealed
Muller and his two companions standing dis
mounted on the bank, the muzzles Of their
rifles pointing straight at the cart.
"Oh, God!" she screamed, "th4Raere going
to shoot u.s." ,s~s~:SS>-s>-xA----
Even as tho words passed her lips three
tongues Of flame hared out from the rifles
mouths and tho Zulu, Mouti, sitting by her
side, pitched heavily forward on to his head
into the bottom Of the cart, while one OF the
wheelers reared straight up into the air with
shrek Of agony and came down with
splash into the river. es
And then followed a scene the horrors OF
which battles my poor pen. Overhead the
storm burst in fury, and fash after fash OF
fork, or rather of chain, lightning fell into
the river. The thunder, too. began to crack
like the trump of doom; the wind rushed
down, tearing the surface of the water into
foam, and, catching under the tent OF the
cart, lifted it clean off the wheels, SO that it
began to float. Then the two leaders, mad
with fear by the fury Of the storm and the
dying struggles Of the off wheeler, plunged
and tore at the traces till they actually rent
themselves loose and vanished between the
darkness overhead and the boiling water be-
meath. Away foated the cart, now touching
the bottom and now riding on the water like
q boat, oscillating this way and that, and
slowly turning round and round. With It
hoated the dead horse, dragging down the
other wheeler beneath the water It was aw-
full to wee his struggles in the glare Of the
lightning, but at last he sank and choked.
And meanwhile, sounding sharp and clear
across the din and hubbub of the storm, came
the cracking Of the three rifles whenever the
flashes showed the whereabouts OF the cart to
the murderers OH the bank Wouti was lying
stillin the bottom OIL the bed plank, bullet
between Ills broad shoulders and another In
his skull; but John felt that his life was yet
whole in him, though something had hisscd
past his face and stung it. Instinctively lie
reached across the cart and drew jess OIL to
his knee, and covered over her, thinking
dinly that perhaps his body would protect
her from the bullets.
Rip rip through the wood and canvas;
phut! phut through the air; but Some nler-
ciful power protected them, and though one
cut Johns coat and two passed through the
skirt Of Jess dress, not a bullet struck them
And very soon the shooting began to grow
wild, and then that dense vail Of i1ein caat1,
down and wrapped then xAclNse ~ fss1sK
lightning lid not khowE hdir Why 6BoutrlI
to the assassins on the bank.
"Stop shooting" said Frank Muller; the
cart has sunk, and there is an end Of them.
No human being can have lived through t. at
fire and the Vaal in food"
The two Beers ceased firing, and the Uni
corn shook his head softly and remarked to
his companion that the damned English peo-
pie in the water could not be much wetter
than they were on the bank. It was Curl
GUS thing to say at such a moment, but prob
ably the spirit that animated the remark was
not SO much callousness as that which ami
mated Cromwell, who tipped the ink in his
neighbours face when he signed the death
warrant of his king.
Muller was also thinking of the warrant
which he had forged. He must get it back
somehow, even if
"Let us take shelter under the bank there.
There is fat place, about fifty yards up,
where the bank lies over This rain is
drowning us. We can't upsaddle till it
clears | must have nip of brandy, too.
Almighty! l can see that girls face now
the lightning shone ON it just as shot. Well,
she will be in heaven now, poor thing, if
English 1eople ever 60 to heaven"
It was the Unicorn who spoke, and the
Vilderbeeste made no reply, but advanced
with him to where the horses stood. Ihey
took the patient brutes that were waiting for
their masters, their heads well down and the
water streaming from them, and led them
along with them. Frank Muller stood ny MS
own horse thinking. and watched them
vanish into the gloom. How was ne 70 get
that warrant back without dyeing his hands
even redder than they weres
As he thought, an answer came. For al
that moment, accompanied by . fearful
thunderclap, there shot from the storm over
head, which had now nearly passed away,
one of those awful flashes that sometimes END
an African tempest. 1t lit up the whole
scene round as light as day, and right IN TIE
white neart of it Muller saw his two com
panions in crime and their horses as the great
king saw the men in the furnace. They were
about forty PAGES from him, on the crest OF
the bank. He saw them, one moment erect;
the next-men aud borses falling this way
and that, prone to the earth. And then 1t
was all dark again. He staggered with the
shock, and when it had passed rushed to the
spot, calling the men by name; but no an
swer came, except the echo of his voice he
was there now, and the moonlight began to
struggle family through the rain. Its pale
beams lit upon two outstretched forms-one
lying OH its back, its distorted features gazing
up to heaven, the other on its face. By them,
the legs of the nearest sticking straight into